United for 90 Years

In that time, Austin has shifted from a city dominated by the government and higher education sectors to a booming center for live music, film, technology, environmental activism and more.

We've evolved right along: leading the community to begin investing in Greater Austin in the 1930s, conducting the first ever assessment of community needs in the 1980s and developing a plan to change the landscape of care for young children in the 2010s.

This timeline is a celebration of how we continue to grow up together - and a living memorial for the city we love.

2014

WHERE WE ARE NOW

10K+ employees giving an average of $44K per day

25K volunteers giving the equivalent of 18 years of day-and-night volunteering each year

500 women investing $1.2M in Austin's future

14 young professionals founding the new Young Leaders Society

12,000 lives touched, including parents, children & teachers

1,400 low-income students on the path to graduating

1,000+ families with a more stable financial future

354K callers connected to assistance

Austin has a population of 860K people and 110 people move to Austin every day

There are nearly 200 music venues in Austin

The technology sector supports 26% of all jobs in Austin

Fastest growing city in the U.S., #1 city to live & make films and a top city for jobs, pets & vegetarians

Austin is home to enough festivals to warrant a Top 5 Austin Music Festivals list on Yahoo

1 in 4 children live in poverty in Austin - that's 71% more than a decade ago

Half of Austin residents are struggling to make ends meet

More than 50K students attend UT each year

STRUGGLE: THE OTHER FACES OF THE
TEXAS ECONOMIC MIRACLE

A Zine & Photography Project

In the 90 years that we've been serving Austin, the barriers to economic opportunity have changed and those struggling in our community have changed as well.

This project highlights the expected and unexpected faces of those struggling. These individuals might be living paycheck-to-paycheck, may be dealing with debt - and they may be facing difficult choices with limited income, unexpected expenses (like a medical emergency or car trouble) or high-costs of everyday needs (like housing or child care).

We've partnered with Matthew Rainwaters (photographer) and Alex Hannaford (journalist & author) to provide a platform for our friends and neighbors to tell their own stories. Our goal is to show that struggle is not far away and thus begin a conversation about the systems that cause difficult decisions and what we can do about them.